'Keep believing and you can go far in life', says Federer

Johannesburg [South Africa], July 17 (ANI): "If you keep believing, you can go far in your life," stressed Swiss maestro Roger Federer while hailing his record breaking eighth Wimbledon triumph as one of the most magical moments of his illustrious career. The third-seeded Swiss superstar outclassed Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in his 11th final at the All England Club that lasted for one hour and 37 minutes on the Centre Court on Sunday to clinch his 19th Grand Slam title. The Swiss star was all in tears as he waved at his wife Mirka and four children before the trophy presentation. "Holding the trophy now, after not dropping a set in the tournament, it's magical really. I can't believe it yet. It's too much," Sport24 quoted an emotional Federer as saying. It was for the first time that Federer won the Wimbledon title without dropping a set. The 35-year-old's previous Wimbledon win came in 2012. He then lost to Novak Djokovic in both the 2014 and 2015 finals. "It's disbelief I can achieve such heights. I wasn't sure I would ever be here in another final after last year. I had some tough ones in the finals, losing two against Novak (Djokovic). But I always believed. I kept on believing and dreaming I could get back," said Federer. "Here am I today with the eighth. It's fantastic, if you keep believing, you can go far in your life," he added. The 19-time Grand Slam champion further insisted that he played the best tennis of his life during the course of the event and hoped to play one more Wimbledon final in the future. "I had an amazing journey here. I played the best tennis of my life. I really want to thank my team, they gave so much strength to me," he said. "It was really tough today. I'm definitely hoping I will come back here (to the final) one more time," he added. His first Wimbledon title came in 2003, and he won the next four after that. The victory makes Federer the oldest man to win at the All England Club in the Open era, which began in 1968. He has now moved clear of seven-time Wimbledon titlists William Renshaw and Pete Sampras. With Federer's fifth crown of the year, the Swiss rises to No. 3 - his highest rankings position since August 2016. His career title count now stands at 93, third on the all-time men's list, behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Ivan Lendl (94) and ahead of John McEnroe (77) and Rafael Nadal (73). (ANI)